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Friends Appeal
Kenneth Steel, Davy United, Blooming and Slabbing Mill (1953).
Kenneth Steel, Davy United, Blooming and Slabbing Mill (1953).
Help us to conserve a fascinating Kenneth Steel oil painting.
Davy United, Blooming and Slabbing Mill (1953) is by much-loved Sheffield artist, Kenneth Steel and has been gifted to the Trust by Mr Brown who bought it in the 1990s. We now need your help to give it a new lease of life.
The painting straddles Sheffield’s collections – evoking the city’s industrial and social history. It was one of several commissions for the manufacturer Davy United at the company’s Darnall works.
Kenneth Steel’s oil painting flourished after the Second World War and he was commissioned by several companies, such as Davy United. His work forms a record of the city’s reconstruction.
Steel was born in Sheffield in 1906 and here for his whole life, giving us a unique picture of the city in the early and mid-20th century. Some of you will remember the recent Kenneth Steel exhibition at Weston Park Museum in 2022, which had a great response from visitors.
How you can help
Sadly, this painting has water damage, patches of fine cracks and requires cleaning by a specialist conservator. It will cost around £2,500 to conserve and Mr Brown has already kindly donated £500.
As a Friend of Sheffield Museums, we’re asking for your help to raise the rest of the funds. If each Friend gave just £10 to our appeal, we would succeed in our goal. Please help to conserve this painting for future generations to enjoy.
Donate today via the link below.
